cynicsick

I wasn't expecting a story so lackluster. Is this drama, comedy, romance? It doesn't feel like any of those at all. It feels like a whole lotta nothing actually. A romantic story is pretty simple and straight forward, but the real challenge is creating chemistry between the stars of the movie. And this is where it all falters.

There was zero chemistry between the two main characters. The setup with how they met was just poorly done with no effort mixed in with some strange interaction. The dialogue/scrip was like they were in a stage play.

I'm not the kind of audience that watches movies like this with a female lead, just to be honest. I'm saying this because if you are a guy like me, inclined to watch movies with male leads because it makes me able to relate to the character more. But this is more about the story and I'm glad I gave this a shot and maybe so should you.

I understand that this is a remake, but who cares. If it's as well done as this one. The writing, directing and acting are top notch and I've nothing to complain about but a few unlikely scenarios. I also noticed how seemingly organic this movie feels with very few manipulation tricks that dramas usually do with annoying loud music or forced character development and the like.

The best part is how heartfelt and poetic it all connects in the end. I just loved how good the flashbacks were done, it's hard to pull off and a lot of films tend to mess this part up. It was refreshing to see it done right.

There are many aspects that are poorly done in this movie but has a few really good qualities that balances it. You have the clever use of a combination of exceptional practical effects and CGI. There are times when you can't tell the difference...BUT then was just ruined by the fake looking blood, or how a guy is peppered with more than 50 rounds of bullets still standing and reacting?

Uninteresting and confusing plot. Maybe it's because it's in Indonesian with English subtitles? But there doesn't seem like a solid plot, only a premise. The rest are like random events filled with violence with endless enemies spawning just about anywhere and out of nowhere.

A protagonist walks in a building filled with a group of armed thugs. The indoors in this movie pretty much all look like cheap movie sets (lol) Then action begins with good quality camera work and raw combat (though at times poorly choreographed) BUT them thugs most of the time seem to attack one by one??? This is common however with this kind of films like Ongbak for example.

There are also many characters introduced that are not shown what their role is, you're probably going to wonder at some point who the bad guys are. NONETHELESS, the gore and action are fun and entertaining and sometimes even funny especially if you are into that sort of stuff. This is not for the queasy.